Incorporating National Endowment Grant Materials Into the Fifth Grade Curriculum

Summer Work

2011-07-25T15:00:00.002-08:00

Mike,
Alice and I have worked a number of days and hours on incorporating historical fiction pieces in conjuction with the literary genre of DRAMA. The story titled, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Betty Bao Lord, fits perfectly into this theme. Thanks for doing so much work finding the perfect book. We will have students take on the role of playrights to write plays that center around a number of Fifth Grade Social Studies units such as Black History month and immigration. In addition, this unit works nicely along side our biography unit.
Here is link to that book:
We are going to spend a lot of our time now focusing on where and when to place this story in our yearly map plans as well as finding a number of other literary pieces that will enhance the unit with leveled books!
Mike and Alice

24-12 work

2010-08-19T03:51:00.002-08:00

Hello team
With the recent developments regarding our SS testing we will now have some latitude to spend more time with literature, art and technology studying the American Revolution. I have worked for many hours at home and met with my student teacher for 4 hrs last week reviewing readings and resources and putting together a unit on Ben Franklin and Paul Revere that will greatly enhance our reading strategies and work parallel to the nonfiction unit in our curriculum map.
See you all very soon.
Mike P

Hello

2010-08-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

Today I spent two hours reviewing additional student activities for my lesson plan. I found and uploaded onto the wiki some interesting information on the painter Gilbert Stuart. I also reviewed comments from other team members.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of summer. I bought a real Alaska truck-- a 1979 Ford F250 pickup. Will send pictures. In the meantime here's a photo of Cathy working on clearing land for our retirement home.

Hey...

2010-08-09T13:35:00.003-08:00

Well, I have been doing some research this morning on videos, documents, graphic organizers etc. I have completed 2 additional lessons with links. I tested them and they seem to be working- all but one the Venn diagram, I had to paste the website to get it to work. I have worked about 5 hours today and am very hot. Going to take advantage of my pool to cool off. Mike P. - sounds like you found some great stuff that we will be able to enhance all of our lessons. Thanks! Mike F. I had a little trouble with one of my content page lessons (#5). It seems to have copied all the content with the label. I have tried to get rid of it and I have been unsuccessful. Any ideas?
See you all a little too soon!:)
Viv

last post

2010-08-06T15:09:00.001-08:00

Ok guys! The end is near!!!! I hope you all enjoy the last of your summer!
I spent 4 hours this week finishing up my two lessons for our project. One is based on writing in ELA and the other is based on math.
Talk to you all soon!
Alice

Final Check In

2010-08-06T10:20:00.002-08:00

OK all,

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

After several hours researching the addtional pictures of the area in which the painting was made, I opted to keep the map on my page.

If anyone has additional suggestions or thoughts, let me know. I don't mind exceeding hours in the name of education :)

Best Regards,
Sara

PS Mike, I got an e-mail from Valerie asking us to turn in projects/logged hours by the 20th...do we manage this or do you? Let me know and thanks for all of your tremendous help!

Changes to site

2010-08-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

Today I spent 2 hours reviewing and making changes to the site. Sara, I inserted a Table of Contents for you. Note that the Table of Contents is an automatic widget that builds off the formating of the text: Example Title 1 format is the heading. Title 2 format creates a sub heading. Any changes you make to the page will only be reflected on the Table of Contents if you give each new sub-section a Title 2 format heading.
I also reviewed everyone's pages and made suggestions. Then I researched on my own project.

We have had a very warm few weeks in Alaska at the end of July and first of August. This is the start of Fall here, so it is usually cool and rainy. Cathy manages to get a round of golf in every morning, while I train for the Alaska Senior Games at the local track. Then we spend the afternoon clearing trees on our property for our retirement home.

Just Checking In

2010-08-01T16:46:00.002-08:00

Hi All,
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!

I have included a ppt. in my project Mike P. ...I did it through a connection of the google docs. You might try pasting it in there and connecting it to the project page.

I would love o include a table of contents to my page. Mike F. , If you could either show me or tell me how to include that, I would be very grateful. :)

I am winding down the summer but will be taking a family trip to Boston. I am hoping to get some great pics of the Massachusetts countryside as well as some historic locations in the Boston area.

Wishing everyone the best, Sara

Adding to the Wiki page

2010-07-27T06:50:00.002-08:00

Mike
It seems as though the wiki page automatically logs out when I am trying to edit my page.
Also can I add a pwr pt to the wiki? I have worked many hours on a it and would like all of you to give me feedback.
Any tips?
Mike

American Revolution

2010-07-27T06:29:00.002-08:00

Hello Teammates
I worked on the Technology curriculum and rubrics committee over the summer and got some really great stuff for us. I have been working on incorporating video filming and postings based on the American Revolution incorporating the photos of Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin. With the use of a Flip video camera I would like to create short public service announcements of the British heading toward Lexington and Concord. We can reenact live broadcast from the battlefields where "The Shot Heard Round the World" was fired. We can do a live broadcast as Revere was making his ride prior to his arrest. These are just a couple of ideas I have been working on but the options are endless.
John K. at Central is picking us up big with some equipment we will be able to use very easily. AND with Mike on our side it will be a great learning experience for the students. I am trying to also integrate the PBS special, The History of US into the project in similar fashion to the National Parks project of last year.
I hope all of you are well and enjoying the summer.
TTYS
Mike P.

2010-07-22T16:24:00.002-08:00

Hey Everyone!
The project is looking great! You all have so many great ideas. I am down in Charleston, SC with all the kids having a great time. While I was touring downtown Charleston, I met a woman who made her own quilts! They were beautiful... and for each one I looked at she could tell me a story about what the patches meant and why she chose them. It was amazing to listen to her. This gave me an idea of having the students make their own quilts with patches that are significant to their lives.
I spent about 4 hours this week researching stories about quilts for my ELA lesson and I also found some great tessellation sites for my math project. I am just having a hard time uploading them so I am emailing my lesson ideas to Mike F. and he will post them for me. Thanks Mike!!!
Talk to everyone soon.
Alice

linking wiki and blog

2010-07-22T06:07:00.002-08:00

Is there a way that we can click on a link on the wiki that will take us to the blog and back again? I think it would make it a little easier to navigate rather than having to go back to the library page. Or is there one and I just am missing it?
Viv

vegetarian?

2010-07-21T06:35:00.003-08:00

Hey Mike F.
So are those magnificent specimens of Alaskan king crab legs vegetarian or have you fallen off the wagon?

You know it is not nice not to share. They look very yummy! It's not nice to wave around food in front of a foodie such as myself(Just kidding of course!).

Looks like you're having a wonderful time!
Viv

Oh Yeah

2010-07-20T08:28:00.001-08:00

By the way I n looked at everyone's pages and you did a wonderful job!

I am here and working

2010-07-20T06:35:00.002-08:00

Hey guys! Well so far the summer has been packed with good things and not so good things. The bad news first- my dad is in the hospital again with congestive heart failure. They have him stabilized and may be sending him home in the next couple of days. We'll see...
The good news is my sister is soooo much better and is back home working in Bradley Beach! I brought her home on July 6. Also I went to Paris for 5 days! My friend works for the airlines ( got to use a buddy pass- cheap!) called me up and invited me to go with her family for a short vacation - spur of the moment. I only had 36 hours to decide and pack! It was incredible! I will download a picture or two next time- haven't gotten to that yet- too busy working on the wiki. I also went to Lake George for 3 days and visited Fort Ticonderoga. Lots of fun, I actually went tubing- that is being tethered and dragged behind a boat while on a round floatation device, for the first time in my life. I literally laughed out loud the entire time. I needed a little comic relief even if it was at my own expense.

Wiki- I did some research last night and very early this morning on Booker T. Washington and the artist Martin Puryear. I was looking up sites on metaphors to see if I could find anything more interesting that what I have already in my own "library." I created 4 lessons that can be used with the picture titled, "Ladder for Booker T. Washington." These lessons do not have to be done in any specific order or can be used individually/isolation with other lessons. I still have to link a couple of documents and such, but the first 4 lessons are almost complete. This portion more than completes my requirement of 4 hours of work for the month of July. I have some more ideas brewing for future lessons. Have fun with them!

Just checking in :)

2010-07-19T16:06:00.003-08:00

As you could tell, I am not finished. I am adding as I think up new ideas. Glad to see your summer is going well and the food certainly looks delicious in Alaska :) Keep on enjoying! Sara

Revision history

2010-07-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a great summer. Our project is really moving along well. When you look at the revision history on the wiki, it is apparant that many hours have been spent on the project. Keep up the good work. Today, I spent about an hour looking over the project and emailing the team.

As you can tell from the photo, my father in law and I are eating well in Alaska. Mike

Lesson Plan

2010-07-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today I added activities to my lesson plan, checked work of our team and sent out a couple of emails. I put in 1.5 hours of work and have logged in 4.5 hours for July. Everyone is reminded that we will need to complete 4 hours of work in July and 4 hours in early August to complete the 24-12 project. So far everything looks great.

One of our local neighbors stopped by to check my work, and Cathy snapped a photo.

My father in law, the retired Marine First Sergeant is visiting us this week. Here he is in front of our guest cabin:

2010-07-14T17:35:00.002-08:00

Hi Guys! I worked 3 hours today on our project. I have a great way to incorporate the quilt picture with math. I am going to create a lesson using tessellations. The students can make a "tessellation quilt" .
Alice

Finished!!

2010-07-14T13:21:00.003-08:00

After countless hours of research, creation and linking, I have finished my summer project!! If there are any additional changes anyone would like to suggest, feel free. Hope everyone is having a great summer. Regards to all,
Sara

2010-07-13T15:03:00.003-08:00

Hi Everyone! Hope you are enjoying your summer.
Thanks Mike F. for the input regarding our project. I think your ideas are great.
Today I spent about 3 hours working on our project. I came up with a great idea using one of the pictures. I am going to incorporate the quilt picture with math and ELA.

I will keep you posted. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Alice

Lesson Plan

2010-07-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today I put in 2 hours on a lesson plan on George Washington http://picturingamerica.wiki.ccsd.edu/Mr.+Frerichs

Thanks for the input

2010-07-08T07:09:00.002-08:00

Hey Mike,
Thanks for the input on my page. I loved it and will be keeping it. Did you get a chance to see my ppt. for weathering and erosion? This took some time to make, however, I think it took more time to figure out how to download it onto google docs and then link it to the library media page. In any case, it is linked here as well if you click on the heading of my last post.
Glad to hear your summer is going well and that you are in a cooler place than NY at this moment :) I will be, of course, at the dentist tomorrow at 1 so I look forward to reading posts when I get home. Best Regards to you and yours and a safe journey. Sara

Checking in

2010-07-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Two Rivers, AK, where we expect to hit a high of 70 degrees today with a clear blue sky. How's the weather in New York (chuckle). I plan to work on our project this week. Leslie, regarding your question to insert pictures-- remember you can't copy and paste into either the blog or the wiki. You must save the picture onto your computer, then upload it using the insert picture icon. Let me know if you need anymore help with it and I can send more detailed instructions.

I think this links it :)

2010-07-03T08:44:00.001-08:00

If this comes through, it is supposed to be a ppt. of weathering and erosion...here goes

ppt. for The Oxbow painting

2010-07-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

I am currently looking for a way to download a powerpoint I made on weathering and erosion that go with the Oxbow painting I currently have on my page. Anyone with any sound advice, I would love your input. Thanks so much and regards to all,
Sara

Using Time Lapse Photography

2010-06-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite blogs is Hiking in Finland, which is about ultralight hiking in the Nordic countries. What I particularly like about the site is the way they use photography to tell their stories. For example here is a fantastic time lapse video of a mountain camping scene. Check it out:

Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light from http://vimeo.com/timescapes on Vimeo.

Delicious.com Bookmarks

2010-06-18T05:21:00.001-08:00

I have set up some bookmarks of resources relating to the project:
http://delicious.com/mfrerich/24-12-2010

Also be sure to check the teacher resource book for the project: http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/educators.php?subPage=edu_guide

What to do

2010-06-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Mike P. filled me in on the plan for the summer...psyched!!

Picturing America

2010-06-16T05:48:00.002-08:00

Dear Team
Today's meeting was great. I believe we have a focus for our project.
Mike P

2010-06-16T05:44:00.001-08:00

Practice

Today's Meeting

2010-06-16T04:44:00.000-08:00

It was great meeting with everyone this morning. The only additional thing I think we should do is provide our non-ccsd emails in case the system goes down this summer. Be sure to put it in your address book. In addition this blog is on google, not ccsd, so in case the wiki site goes down, we can use this blog. It will also keep a record of our activity. Mike

Fotopedia

2010-06-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a great resource for pictures in student projects or lesson plans. It's called Fotopedia.

Photo of the day on Fotopedia

2nd post

2010-06-10T12:32:00.001-08:00

Last check in before summer :)

National Common Core Standards

2010-06-08T04:15:00.000-08:00

The Federal Government has just adopted new national common core state standards. As we prepare our lesson plans for the 24-12 project, I suggest we refer to these standards.

Setting up our site.

2010-06-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Team members,
Today, I added links to our wiki project page on the blog page, updated the slide show to include our project pictures, and fixed the wiki page. I would like to meet with you sometime next week to go over any questions you have. Mike

2010-05-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Just checking in ;)

Checking In!

2010-04-20T08:26:00.001-08:00

I am looking forward to utilizing these wonderful classic art pieces into my lessons.

checking in!

2010-04-20T08:24:00.001-08:00

Just checking in! This will be the best one over!!!

Checking In

2010-04-20T08:20:00.001-08:00

Just checking in with my team on our planning.

Setting up for 2010

2010-04-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

I have set up the wiki and the blog for this summer's project. Look for an email inviting you to each if you are not already signed up.
The wiki is at http://picturingamerica.wiki.ccsd.edu/
The wiki is where we will post our stuff.

The blog is at http://projectccsd.blogspot.com/
The blog is where we will prove we did the work. It's like a diary-- we will discuss our project and post our work hours during the summer. When you check in on the blog and the wiki, there is a record of the time and date you checked in. this will provide proof of the dates and times of our work.

I can meet with everyone shortly in the computer lab to go over the mechanics. Thanks, Mike

wrapping it up

2009-08-17T08:52:00.002-08:00

Well I went through the different pages testing all the sites for accessability. It was successful. Still doing so some research for interesting sites. Alice the math sites you found are pretty comprehensive; do you have any other ideas about topics that you would like to see incorporated? Mike P - same goes for you. If there is anything you would like to see more about in s.s. or we missed let me know. Mike F if you could put some beautiful media- that you are so good at- on the math page where I added 2 new sites; that would be fantastic. Well, that wraps up about another 2 hours of work. Let me know if there is anything else I can do otherwise I will be sitting by my pool trying to keep cool! ;)

video game for learning multiplication facts

2009-08-13T08:22:00.003-08:00

Hey guys!
Well I was thinking that not knowing your multiplication facts can really hinder your ability to succeed in math so, I have been doing research to find games which help students memorize and practice these facts in a fun way(2.5 hours). I have been playing the free version for a while (testing the product) and I am pleased to say that I am very successful at my 2 and 3 times tables! (I got the ogre!) The game does need to be downloaded to play but, I think they students will enjoy it tremendously.

Government page

2009-08-12T19:13:00.002-08:00

Today I spent 1 hour reviewing and updating the American Government page. Hope the weather in New York has improved. Ran the Santa Claus half marathon (13.1 miles) in North Pole, Alaska, last Sunday.

Updates to math

2009-08-07T15:06:00.009-08:00

Today I spent 4 hours doing research on math sites. I worked on the wiki and updated Alice's page to add some widgets that preview the sites she suggested.
I hope you all are having a great summer. Our summer has been very different from yours. Weather in the Interior of Alaska has been hot and dry with several days in the 90"s. We had no rain from the last week in June until yesterday. As a result the fire season has been bad.
Forest fires are burning in all of our favorite hiking places and around Fairbanks. Some days the smoke has been very bad, but if the wind is blowing right, we have had some beautiful days as well. My running is limited by the smoke but did manage to do the 16 mile Gold Didscovery trail run two weeks ago and hope to do the Santa Clause Half Marathon 12 miler tomorrow if the smoke allows. Cathy and I haven't done any backpacking due to the fires, but have done a lot of day hikes nearby. Photo at left is the Angel Rocks trail about 20 miles from our home.
Forest fires are part of the ecology here, and the years after a fire find the mountains a beautiful purple from a flower we call fireweed. The picture at the right is fireweed. Imagine a whole mountain thickly covered with this flower and you have an idea of what it is. Pictures dont do it justice. The wildlife adjusts quite well and even thrives after a fire. This year we have 2 million acres burning about the size of the state of Deleware. The worst year we had was 2004 when we burnt 6 million acres about the size of Vermont. That year he fires came within 8 miles of our home and that wasn't much fun. Otherwise it's all part of living in Alaska.

Cathy and I will be returning on August 20th, then leaving immediately for Virginia Beach to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Her family is throwing a party for us there.

2009-08-05T09:46:00.002-08:00

Mike F, Mike P, Viv,

I just posted a new math site. It is one of the better ones. It provides practice on most of the curriculum that we cover. Now that the math test is in May- it is good to have the majoritiy of the topics on our site.
Summer is going well. No baby yet! I am due on the 24th, but it is going by very fast!! Hope you guys are doing well and will talk to you soon.
Alice

Wk Hours
2 hours 8/3
2 hours 8/5

American Government

2009-07-31T18:18:00.004-08:00

Mike F, Alice and Viv
I hope you are all well and enjoying all the rain!
If you get a chance please look at the wiki under American Gov't and you will see a site I added which I looked at for a long time and felt was very helpful. I also created a power point challenge from this site but may need help from you Mike to get it linked to my page when we get back to school. The pwr pt focuses on short answer NYS test questions. In August, I am going to concentrate on the constructed response and DBQ questions.

Best to everyone
Mike P

Working, working working...

2009-07-27T16:30:00.002-08:00

Been working for a little over 2 hours-I have been able to do research for the math and social studies pages. I got some great sites that I want to spend some time reviewing. Maybe I'll share them with you Mike F. for you to take a peek at.

Trying to recover from MONSTER hail storm yesterday that took out the electricity (and trees) in the neighborhood. Got power back yesterday only to have "one of my phases be out" this afternoon (whatever that means) translated only half of my house has power. No well (water) so trying to conserve water so the horses have water for the next 24 hours (they drink a lot). No showers today(PU), but it gives me time to do some research (thank goodness the computer is working!)

Fun stuff! Talk to you soon. Viv

July work

2009-07-24T19:03:00.001-08:00

Today I spent 2 hours reviewing web sites and updating the wiki. Hope everyone is having a good summer. Want to see some Italy pictures or baseball pictures in the blog.

Weather in Alaska continues to be beautiful. Am running in a 16 mile trail race on Sunday. Hope there is no smoke.

July work

2009-07-22T03:15:00.002-08:00

Mike F, Alice and Vivian
I have been focusing on The American Revolution and American Government information and activity sites since I have been back from Italy. It was nice seeing Vivian there. It is always a lot of information we have to introduce and review prior to the DBQ's. I have been trying to put together the constructed response questions to help with the writing tasks. Last night I found a number of good document sites that I will share. We can build many questions from these sites. I hope all are well. Hours logged so far 4 1/2.
Mike P

2009-07-20T07:02:00.002-08:00

Hello,
This week I spent 4 hours researching math sites that would be beneficial to assisting students to prepare for the state test. NYS is extending our time to prepare for the test and I am sure there will be a lot more material that we will need to cover. The test will now be in May, so I am trying to include topics that extend past the pre-March materials.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Alice

I'm back and working.

2009-07-19T06:12:00.003-08:00

Hey guys!
Back from Italy- was incredible! Who do I see in the Vatican Museum, but Mike Pisano and family! Also saw Bernie Williams and family on plane to and from Italy- Bernie and I are like this.... we always vacation together. I used to vacation with Paul O'Neil but...

Been working on the wiki for about 2 hours- added a page and a few websites for games and practice tests. How do you add the media to the games page? I know I did this before, but can't seem to remember how- hmmm? Jetlag?

Talk to you soon,
Viv

Math sites

2009-07-18T11:52:00.005-08:00

Today I worked 2 hours on the wiki site. Alice has suggested some sites which I posted on the math page. I also checked over and reviewed some of the social studies pages and contacted team members via email.

If you have suggested sites to post, please either post them yourself or send them to me. We need to review and check each link in the wiki for accuracy, so that might take some time.

Below: Wife and neighbor seeking support after 5K run in Fairbanks on July 4.

How to post to the wiki

2009-06-22T06:26:00.002-08:00

Step #1: Go to the wiki page. The link is on this blog at the right, or you can find it at the library web page. http://socialstudies5.wiki.ccsd.edu/

Step#2: Log in.

Step #3: Go to the page you want to edit, or chose "new page" at the top.

Step #4: Edit the page.

Step #5: Click save.

Is it working

2009-06-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

Do you see me yet posted Mike?
viv

Test

2009-06-22T05:56:00.001-08:00

Mike, Viv and Alice
I have some great ideas for this summer.
Mike

Posting Math Sites

2009-06-22T05:45:00.002-08:00

Alice, Mike, and Vivian,
You can post and edit your sites directly on the wiki page. You can also set up new pages for your stuff. For example I will create a new page called Math Sites and you can post directly on that page.

2009-06-22T05:12:00.002-08:00

Hey! It is all coming back to me now...I think! Testing. Testing.

Test

2009-06-18T10:17:00.001-08:00

Hi Team!
Just testing. Looking forward to creating another great project with you guys!
Alice O'Hara

Summer plan

2009-06-18T07:56:00.002-08:00

It's that time of year again! Our team needs to set up and plan for our project this summer. Here is our project description:

Our team has created and maintained a web page and wiki for
students, parents, and teachers to use in preparation for the 5th
grade social studies assessment. This year we plan to update the
page and expand its content to include mathmatics review. Our goal
is for all district staff to be able review and share ideas to improve
student performance.

The first step we need to take is to check in on both the blog and the wiki pages.

Three branches of government

2008-08-28T13:07:00.002-08:00

Mike
I think I figured out what I did wrong.
I spent a lot of time scrutinizing the branches of government sites for our students. This one is great and I would like to add to our page. By the way, I saw a number of these facts we covered together on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. Hope the kids were watching!
Look forward to seeing you.
Mike

2008-08-28T13:02:00.001-08:00

Mimke
Why did this post on this blog, can you delete?
mike

Baseball 09

2008-08-28T12:50:00.002-08:00

Last season the Rams finished at exactly .500 and lost to John Jay Cross River in an exciting and close ballgame on the road. Many seniors have graduated and this leaves the Rams with a number of open positions to fill. Start working hard now because many players that are competing to make the team will find themselves challenged. With one year and a lot of learning under my belt. Be ready to play not talk!!
Coach Pisano

August meeting

2008-08-10T16:38:00.002-08:00

I have posted the agenda and some of our tasks for August 10 on the wiki. Alice, it's great to see you and the new baby are doing well. Alice has already checked in as of August 6. I posted instructions on how to put a PowerPoint into a wiki, so Alice will be able to post her work directly on the wiki.

We are having a cold, rainy summer here in Alaska. At least 10 degrees colder than normal. The other day Cathy saw a moose in front of our house. I think he was trying to get near our wood stove to get warm!

Last post in July

2008-07-23T14:44:00.001-08:00

I just finished my last post in the month of July on the wiki. It appears that everyone has checked in and produced work on the wiki, except that I have not heard from Alice. Has anyone heard from her? Please let me know?

Improving Site

2008-07-19T11:36:00.003-08:00

Here's a way to make the wiki site look a little better and to display the front page of a web site you are linking to:
You can display the web pge you are linking to by entering a widget with a special code between these brackets <>
iframe src="http://www.archives.gov/nae/" frameborder="0" height="390" scrolling="no" width="600">

Meeting July 10, 2008

2008-07-08T15:09:00.006-08:00

Most of you have received notice that our first meeting for the 24-12 project is set for July 10, 2008. Of course this is not a physical meeting, it will take place on our wiki page and on our blog. Take the time to check in onto our site and post any ideas that you have to update the page. Also take the time to log in your hours of work on the project. For example, today I am spending an hour setting up the project and posting some updates.

I created a new page on the wiki called "Practice Tests" and incorporated some of the links from our previous page onto it. I have updated the page to reflect new links.

You can consider doing the same thing as a start. Pick a page from the last year's project. Copy and paste it onto a new page on the wiki. Give the new wiki the proper name for the page and it will appear in the table of contents. Record your work on the meeting page so we will know what you are working on.

If the wiki is new to you, don't worry, you can't screw up. Any mistakes can be corrected by going to the history page.

Tools you can use

2008-06-25T03:43:00.001-08:00

Voice Thread is one of my favorite tools for Web 2.0 in the classroom. Check out this excellent project by elementary students. I will definitely use this tool in my lesson planning for next year:

Re-designed National Archives Website

2008-06-16T05:14:00.001-08:00

The National Archives has recently redesigned its website. The site is to use with excellent multimedia effects. Students will have the opportunity to explore digital vaults, where they can build their own personalized collection. Pages are interactive. Students can create their own projects, such as a poster. This site is worth exploring this summer for lesson plan ideas.

past blogs-QUIA

2008-06-10T09:20:00.002-08:00

I was looking over the past blogs and I noticed that the district did not pay for QUIA last year. Does this still ring true for this year? I hope it something that we will have access to. It is such a great tool.

wow

2008-06-10T09:14:00.002-08:00

I like what George has to say and I am looking forward to working with him (team) also.

Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this project!

Truly creative and too cute and funny! As usual Mike F. you impress me.
Viv

george

2008-06-10T07:12:00.002-08:00

it looks interesting but I don't have any volume on my computer I will try it again in the computer lab --later.
Viv

Welcome

2008-06-10T04:14:00.003-08:00

Is this working?

2008-06-09T10:50:00.001-08:00

Trying it out did I do this right?

wiki training

2008-06-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

Mr. Frerichs
Thanks for the tutoring session.
Mike

DBQ practice

2008-06-09T06:02:00.001-08:00

testing!!

Getting started

2008-06-06T07:43:00.001-08:00

Here are two things to do to make the wiki and blog work for you:

1. Vivian, on the home page go to the discussion tab and check in the way Mike and Vivian have.

2. Everyone, go to the "notify me" tab at the top right. On the second line you will see: Looking for changes to all the pages in this space? Visit the space-wide notification page. Select space wide notification and have notices sent to you email of any changes on the site. That way you don't need to check the wiki, you will get an email whenever we do anything on it.

3. Finally, you can now access the blog through the wiki, I've put a link there. vivian, I sent you an invitation to the blog.

This year's project

2008-02-11T06:07:00.000-09:00

Mike and Alice
I am looking forward to this year's project.
Mike

QUIA update

2007-08-08T10:43:00.001-08:00

It looks like everyone has done a great job on their updates this summer. I have spent the month of August trying to straighten out our QUIA account. Here is the scoop:

The CCSD library media budget normally funds our QUIA subscription, which expires on September 1, 2007. Due to some administrative errors, the software budget for the library media department was left out of this year's district budget. Unfortunately the distict has not renewed the subscription to QUIA because of this error. I don't have time to fool around with them, so I am renewing a subscription for our team. It will cost $40. I'll write it off my taxes.

Straightening out this mess has used up my 4 hours for August. At any rate, I'll get our work submitted when they ask for it.

On a better note, we have had a beautiful summer here in Alaska. We took a great backpacking trip to Denali State Park. AND we now have electricity in our cabin. I had the electric line extended to our property and installed the electric myself (with the help of Aliy Zirkle's husband Allen Moore, who showed me what to do). It's great to have electricity here.

Talk to you late, Mike Frerichs

2007-08-06T05:34:00.001-08:00

Hi Mike and Mike,
I hope you both are having a great summer. Congratulations on your successful baseball season Mike P!!!
I have continued working on our Social Studies terms this week. I have also found some great web quests that were created by other schools in NYS and they look pretty good. I think they our kids would enjoy them. I have spent approximately 4 hours this week working on our project.
Enjoy the rest of your summers!! Talk to you soon.
Alice

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2007-08-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

Mike F and Alice
Oh if you are wondering that's Industrial Revolution! I am still hurting after we scored 4 runs in the top of the ninth to come from behind in the American Legion section 9 championship in Newburgh to give up 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth and lose 8 to 7 to the two time Shrub Oak champs last night. It's the first time ever this organization has even made it to the playoffs nevermind the finals and we really had a great run. Second place is an amazing accomplishment I guess.
Mike P

Erie Canal and Indutrial Revolution

2007-08-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

Mike F and Alice.
I spent over 5 hours in July focusing on the history of New York including the Industrial Revolution and the building of the Erie Canal just as we had discussed. The first week in August I will use all of my research to create a variety of quizzes and activities the students can complete in the fall. I hope you are both having a good summer and I will talk to you soon.
Mike P

2007-07-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys!
I have updated the powerpoint with new DBQ terms. I also linked some of the slides to some new sites that I found. I spent about 4 to 4 1/2 hours this week working on it.
I hope you both are having a nice summer.

Alice

Status of our project

2007-07-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

Alice and Mike,
I'm certain you re aware of the changes on the District web page. I no longer have direct access to make the updates for our project.

Fortunately, I was able to post some of your work before the changeover, namely
Erie Canal PowerPoint
Erie Canal Quiz
DBQ Terms PowerPoint

We will still be able to post work to QUIA.

Denise Farro the new district webmaster has been wonderful. She has worked very hard to get my library page up and running. You can locate our project page off the library page --> parent drive.

Please check in when you get a chance and let me know if you are having any difficulty. As of today I have logged in 3.5 hours making the needed corrections. Remember we need to account for 4 hours in July and 4 hours in August.

Talk to you later. Mike

2007-06-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

Mike the comprehensive list of key terms and vocabulary is a focus of mine.

Test

2007-06-12T07:41:00.001-08:00

This a test!!

Setting up for the 2007 Project

2007-06-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

Mike P. and Alice,

I'm setting up the project for the 2007 update. Please take the time to check in on the blog. There are a couple of changes you should be aware of. Hopefully the snow will have melted off the outhouse before I get to Alaska this summer.

Blogger.com has now united with Google, so you should confirm that you password and username still exist.

Clarkstown School District is about to use a new program and service for all district web pages. I have an oral commitment from Mi Jung that the old pages (including our project page) will not be disturbed and we will still have access to them throughout the summer. Mi Jung, however, will be leaving as head of tech services on July 1, and I have no guarantee that the new head of technology will maintain the same commitment.

As a result of #2, we must be prepared to complete the project on QUIA if we need to.

You should save the address of this blog and the QUIA page in case we do not have access to the school server.

If you have another email other that the school email, we should exchange that, in the event that school email is down.

Please post something to this blog as a test. Thanks, Mike Frerichs

2006 Summer Project CCSD

2006-08-22T02:59:00.000-08:00

Mike and Alice
Thanks for submitting the final project to Eileen. I reviewed the completed work and know that all using it will benefit tremendously. I ran into a number of SS teachers in the district and thanked us for all we provide for students to use. A request is to keep our work coming. Wait until they see this project.
Although the project is submitted, I would like to take an early assessment of the students so we can create specific Quia quizzes for points of weakness. I am continuing work creating test specific questions. Most questions are completed but having a bit of trouble with quia. We can update it at the end of August or when school begins. Heading to Colonial Williamsburg for a few days and will gather lots of brochures and info to share with all.
Mike P2006 Summer Project CCSD

Project submitted today

2006-08-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

Mike P. and Alice,
I will submit our web page to Eileen via email today. I'll try to cc both of you. In the meantime we need to account for hours during the month of August. Just make a note on the blog of what you did.

I spent time reviewing Mike's list of questions, which are just wonderful. I will do a final review of the web page today. All of that accounts for most mf my hours in August; however, I will check in again the first of next week. Talk to you all later, Mike

don't forget

2006-08-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

2006 Summer Project CCSD
Mike F and Alice:
I have spent my July hours creating test review questions that incorporate all the topics included. I have looked at a number of old sample tests and sites. In your work, don't forget to include the Industrial Revolution and Immigration. These two topics althoughappear on the tests with limited questioning, are not coverered in depth until after the test. Mike I need info on how to transfer from a word document to the blog.
Thanks,
Mike

Last July work session.

2006-07-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

Today I spent my last work session on the project for July. My school email is still not working. I assume it is because the mail box is full. If any of you need to reach me, use mrerich@frontiernet.net.

After we have completed our required wrok hours in August, I will forward the finished web page to Eileen. Hopefully we can finish this by August 14. Talk to you all later, Mike Frerichs

2006-07-31T05:59:00.000-08:00

Hello!
Today I worked for 2 hours. I sorted through previous test questions and typed them on Word. Maybe we can add these to the Quia quiz. I also found a really good site you might want to check out.
http://schools.nycenet.edu/Region3/ps184/SOCIALSTUDIESINFO.htm
This site includes wonderful links and great explanations of terms that we see on the DBQ test.
I hope your summers are going well!

2006-07-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!
I researched web sites today for us to use for the project. I spent about 1 1/2 hours working. I am going to try and get my hours done this week so handing it in shouldn't be a problem Mike. The sites I was looking at today were sites for parents to use to help them better understand what the DBQ test is. These sites also had links for students to help them study. I am sure we can use it.
Sounds like you are having a greate summer Mike!

http://www.upstatehistory.org/services/DHP/DBQ.html
This site has a great description of what the DBQ test is. It also includes helpful sites for educators, parents, and students.

http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/scostei/socstudies5.html
This site has DBQ sample tests to practice from Nov 2005. It includes actual test booklets and answer booklets from Nov. 2004/2003 and an archive of tests.

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listdocumentpa.html
This site contains many links to related materials for the DBQ.
This site is meant to provide students with resources to develop the skills needed to effectively respond to DBQs.

http://www.mohonasen.org/grade5/crows/crowdbq.htm
Mike this is a great site with lots of links…..but it is from another school. We might be able to use some of the links though.

Work session

2006-07-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

I spent about two hours today working through Mike Pisano's questions and incorporating them into a few QUIA activities. Those are some great questions that you came up with Mike!

I'm still having trouble accessing email through the CCSD web site. My alternate email is mfrerich@frontiernet.net, if anyone needs to reach me.

I probably will not be checking in until the first of August. The second week of August I would like to submit the project to Eileen Mautschke for approval. If yuo can plan your log ins accordingly.

Cathy and I are heading up the Steese Highway to do some backpacking on the Pinnell Mountain Trail Click here to check out where we will be. We were up there a few years ago and hit some bad weather-- didn't really enjoy it that much. We are having just great weather in Alaska now, so we hope to get up there in time to beat the next front that comes through.

We hear you are having a terrible heat wave down there. Hope you guys are staying cool. Talk to you later, Mike Frerichs

Work session

2006-07-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

I tried to send some emails to the team today but had difficulty with the CCSD email. I put an hour and a half in today
checking out some useful sites. I came across tow that may be of use on our project:

http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/plans.html
Dr. Marty Levine, Professor Emeritus of Secondary Education, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), has gathered lesson plans and resources from the Internet which social studies teachers will find useful. These materials are not specific to York State. The list is very large, but if you take the time to go through it it is useful.

http://www.tc.edu/ncrest/teachers/andrews/curriculum.htm
The Bronx New School rewrote its social studies curriculum to address state standards. There is a lot of useful material on this web site. Of particular interest is a study of "Life in New Amsterdam."

2006-07-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hi Mike and Mike! I couldn't get a hold of a computer out in Ireland- but I did some research on immigration. I acquired some materials that we might be able to create questions from. I also took some pictures of the old machinery they use to use around the time that most people emigrated to Amercia. Maybe we could upload them and post as document questions.
I hope your research is going well.

First July work session

2006-07-10T17:42:00.000-08:00

Today I spent 45 minutes surfing the web for useful sites. I recommend them for our web page:
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listdocumentpa.html
This site contains many links to related materials for the DBQ. This site is meant to provide students with resources to develop the skills needed to effectively respond to DBQs.

http://www.mohonasen.org/grade5/crows/crowdbq.htm
This is a Social Studies Review Page developed by the Mohonasen Central School District, Pinewood Intermediate School. It contains many useful links.

2006 Summer Project CCSD

2006-06-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

2006 Summer Project CCSD

Hello from Fairbanks, Alaska. Just want to check in with the team. Hope you are all having a great summer so far. I plan on putting my required work hours in the first few weeks of July and will post a couple of items to the QUIA page.

We are having great weather in Fairbanks. There is a large forest fire 50 miles south of us and if the wind is blowing right, we catch some of the smoke, but not nearly as bas as we had two years ago, when we had a forest fire only 10 miles from our home! It's all part of living in Alaska.

A couple of young grizzly bears showed up in the middle of Fairbanks a few weeks ago, and that caused quite a stir. One was just sighted moving to the wilderness north of where we live. Unforunately, the other one approached a home and was shot by the homeowner.

Talk to you all later. Mike

Change question 1

2006-06-19T06:02:00.001-08:00

1. Lines of latitude are also known as ______________.
a. meridians b. parallels c. Prime Meridian

2006 Summer Project CCSD

2006-06-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

2006 Summer Project CCSD
Mike P- I liked the question doc. you put on the web site. I think it will be really useful for our students and parents. They can use it for practice at home or from anywhere. What a great idea!